If there was a guide to work your way into someone’s heart, would you use it? It is time to delete your Tinder profile and forget about the person you met at the bar last week because with this antique allegory of love you can find yourself on the roadmap into anyone’s heart. Set in the 19th century, this map helps describe the United States, a newly developing nation in which travelers continue to expand westward in the interest of exploration. At the same time, it tells us about people who are not only interested in the exploration of land but also in emotional realms as well, such as marriage. The societal expectations in partnership were that women served as caretakers and that men were providers. To illustrate such ideals, a woman crafted a satirical map to lay out the stereotypical heart of a woman which happened to include traits such as fickle and vane. This map contrasts a later released map which encloses the inner unemotional workings of a man. The disparity between the two maps illustrating the heart of a woman and a man serves as a looking glass into societal and romantic expectations during the 19th century through the use of tactical word choice, coloring incorporation, and opposing illustrations.
The societal expectations of womanhood in the 19th century reflect not only the women themselves but also the societies they cultivated. During a time of change characterized by urbanization, communication, and mechanization the expectations and roles of women began to shift as well, undermining previously conceived notions about what it meant to be a woman. Even so, many women continually felt the oppressive forces of male-dominated industries but found ways to make light of the situation. Such as a certain satirical map created by an author who identifies as a woman and which can now be used to illuminate gender role stereotypes present during a time when the roles of women were beginning to change. The Map of a Woman’s Heart laid out women’s moral character and interior lives on a piece of parchment ready for men to conquer. It describes how women were expected to feel in relationships and about love and marriage. A woman’s heart is depicted as an “open country” with terrain that is dangerous and should not be traveled on by the weak of heart. Located in the bottom right corner, a woman’s desirable traits such as love, hope, and enthusiasm are illustrated as impossible to reach as they are separated by mountains. Colored yellow, these positive traits are easily distinguishable in comparison to the undesirable qualities that make up the vast majority of a woman’s heart. Furthermore, a woman’s positive qualities are enclosed by the “Ego Mountains” which insinuates that a woman cannot possess such traits without being perceived as egotistical. With these characteristics of the map, women are portrayed as egotistical, fickle, and vane. The mapmaker’s choice of color is used to isolate a woman’s desirable traits while casting a sense of disgust because said traits are embellished with egotistical undertones.
The author’s word choice paints an ugly picture on the heart of a woman, by devaluing the power in femininity and making reference to women as easy to conquer as a territory on a map. Moreover, the map is a representation of what men have assumed a woman’s heart is supposed to look like and the author is simply depicting those feelings in an easily readable guide. The domestic nature of this map lies in the idea that it is possible for a woman’s heart to be mapped and that women are worth no more than a piece of land on a map. As expansion was at the forefront of people’s minds, the mapmaker chose to cater to the societal boom in colonization by insinuating that a woman’s heart could be conquered as well. The rhetorical satire of this piece can be inferred because maps are not considered factual and a woman’s heart does not solely comprise of the attributes the author chose to include. If anything, the map pokes fun at the idea that women were expected to have such undesirable qualities. Similar to a cartographic depiction, which was a tool used by a frontiersman to chart their exploration, The Map of a Woman’s Heart can not be considered factual because it is influenced by the bias of its author and should be read with caution. Equating the love of a woman to something that can be charted on paper diminishes its true value and undermines the idea that women are worth more than their marital qualities. Yet this map makes up only one half of a picture, which together paints a pessimistic picture of love…
In contrast to the susceptible yet undesirable traits of a woman’s heart is The Map of a Man’s Heart. Illustrated around the same time, the less welcoming heart of a man is enclosed by a wall that guards an emotionless and materialistic excuse of a human. The majority of the map attributes men as having an abundance of power and knowledge yet a lack of matrimonial appeal. For example, men are attributed with a “Love of Eating, Better Judgement, and Love of Money,” along with an impenetrable “Citadel of Self-love,” all of which can be interpreted as undesirable qualities in partnership. According to this map, the only penetrable section of a man’s heart is “The Land of Romance”. The satirical nature of this map lies in the man’s unfortified area which can only be communicated with a woman’s good sense, temper, and fortune. Men were commonly viewed as being heartless so it is natural that the depiction of their heart is guarded by a wall and can only be penetrated if a woman is wealthy or has materialistic value. It is clear from this map that during the 19th century, men were solely focused on making money and power. The importance of highlighting this once again speaks to the societal expectations of men at the time as being the head of the household. A man’s priority was to continue his bloodline and provide for his family by finding the strongest and most valuable partner to help him carry out said ‘duty’. Similar to the map, The Map of a Woman’s Heart, the heart of a man is illustrated as being conquerable despite the apparent difficulty. This map gives a gloomy outlook on the success of finding a suitable partner due to the unappealing characteristics attributed to a man’s heart.
These two rather disheartening maps for ambitious suitors at the time tell a story on their merit as well as in conjunction with one another. As depicted, a woman’s heart is concerned with the vanity of life, prioritizing having the most luxurious wardrobe and posh attitude while men are more focused on earning power and dominating the economy. It can be inferred that although each gender fantasizes about conquering the other, neither gender can see eye to eye or heart to heart on the other’s ideals. A man will never understand the complexities of a woman’s heart and vice versa. The hearts of men and women during this era were viewed similarly to the newly developing nation whose land was waiting to be conquered. The author specifically chose the device to map the heart because it is something the readers at the time could understand. Unfortunately for prospective lovers in the 19th century, they will continue to face the difficulty of mastering his or her own heart and are now tasked with conquering the heart of others as well. So ask yourself. Do you think you are ready to conquer the roadmap to love?
Atlas: The Digital Atlas Project
https://www.digitalatlasproject.net/about
The Digital Atlas Project grew out of our desire, as teachers, for students to have up-to-date maps and data at their fingertips whenever they need it, where ever they may be: in class, at the learning commons or library, at home or studying at a friend’s house. It now serves as a great guide for anyone to access really interesting maps that are free!
Blog: Map Room Blog
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The Map Room is a blog about maps that covers everything from antique map collecting to the latest in geospatial technology.
Works Cited:
Formichella, J. (2021, February 12). The map of a woman’s heart. Recollections Blog. https://recollections.biz/blog/the-map-of-a-womans-heart/
Buehler, M. (n.d.). Map of the fortified country of man’s heart. Boston Rare Maps. https://bostonraremaps.com/inventory/kellogg-fortified-country-of-mans-heart-1846/
Popova, M. (2022, May 6). A Map of Woman’s Heart: satirical illustrated cartography of Victorian gender stereotypes. The Marginalian. https://www.themarginalian.org/2011/09/30/map-of-womans-heart/
The Way To A Woman’s Heart: 19th Century Print Attempted To Map Female Emotion. (2017, December 7). HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/map-womans-heart_n_1093421
Women In Nineteenth-Century America. (2018, March 13). Social Welfare History Project. https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/woman-suffrage/women-in-nineteenth-century-america-2/#:~:text=American%20women%2C%20if%20we%20accept,nurtured%20children%20and%20sheltered%20husbands.
The blog presents a fascinating examination of two satirical 19th-century maps. These maps ingeniously utilize the metaphor of geographical exploration, a prominent theme of the time, to comment on gender stereotypes and the dynamics of romantic relationships. What is particularly interesting to me about the blog’s analysis is how the maps both reflect and criticize societal norms. The Map of a Woman’s Heart, with its depiction of women’s traits as territories to be navigated and conquered, illustrates women being complex, emotional, and somewhat unpredictable, echoing the gender biases of the time. The use of color and geographical metaphors in the map, as the blog points out, vividly portrays these stereotypes while also subtly criticizing the women’s roles and personalities. In contrast, The Map of a Man’s Heart depicts a more guarded, and emotionally barren view, reflecting the societal expectation of men as providers and decision-makers, devoid of deeper emotional complexities. The blog astutely observes how this map, too, serves as both a reflection and a critique of the societal view of men’s roles, emphasizing their supposed lack of emotional depth and focus on material and pragmatic aspects of life. In their satirical approach, these two fascinating maps reveal much about the gender dynamics and societal expectations of the 19th century. Ultimately, it highlights the limitations and biases inherent in these societal norms and how they shaped and were shaped by the complexity of love and relationships.
I really like how unique and interesting the map that you choose to write about is because it demonstrates how maps can be rhetorical devices to depict relationships and stereotypes spatially instead of only places that physically exist. I especially really like the parallels you drew between the American conquest of the West in the 19th century and the social expectation of romance and courtship in the United States during that time. Your analysis of this map really shows how the authors of this map held biases of male domination over women (with women’s hearts being easily conquerable while men’s are all walled up) and how they thought that women are only worth their “marital qualities” are in line with the common mindset of this totally patriarchal time period. I also found all of the stereotypes that were pointed out from the map to be very informative and was able to give me an understanding of what men thought during that time thought women’s and men’s natural interests and thought process were in romance, with women being passive and vane and men being emotionless and conquerors of the heart. Finally, I also really found the idea of a road map to someone’s heart to be interesting as it traces back to this idea that this was supposed to be a visualization for primarily men to understand both sides and be able to conquer a woman’s heart.
The map choice is fascinating. The idea of illustrating people’s hearts with a map is unique. What attracted me is you interpreted the respective components of men and women’s hearts in a detailed way. Women were depicted as waiting to be conquered but their true desire didn’t lie in love but in dress, sentiment, and admiration. And the heart of men is surrounded by barriers except for the part of romance. Still, they’re more attracted to economy and power than to women. The lack of love in a map talking about love is so sarcastic and quite remarkable for a 19th-century map. Even today, we choose to ignore the fact that we do not look for true love most time. Love is, on many occasions, a projection of our desires. And I like the connection you make between the contents and the social background in the 19th century when social ideology was undergoing reformation. Men and women are no longer playing the traditional roles in a family. The increased job opportunities were reshaping the lives of women, as well as the ways men and women think of each other. It illustrates that love is not something instinctive and hearts can be reshaped by society. It gives us a better understanding of the map and makes us think of how are our hearts shaped now 200 years after the map was created.
Bridget, your analysis of the map was excellent. You went very deep into the context of when this map was created and it brought into perspective the reasons why the person who made this map. The visuals of the map really draw you in, making the map the shape of a heart helps emphasize their point. Going into the visual aspects of the map, the way they are divided up is also very interesting. You mentioned that the map paints an ugly picture of a woman’s heart and that it is a difficult terrain, but you also mentioned that it describes how a woman’s heart is open and easy to conquer. I completely agree with you, and it shows how the misogynistic views of the creator are hypocritical and does not make much sense. The gender roles are very much upheld with “love of dress” and “land of selfishness” that are on the women’s heart. What you could also mention is the fact that the closeness and emotionlessness of the man’s heart perpetuates the stereotype that men don’t and shouldnt have emotion and should only like money and power, which are harmful and untrue! Great analysis Bridget 🙂